Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve. 

We had been invited to a Christmas Eve Service at Lazy Mountain Bible Church.  Our church, Matanuska AG, also has a Christmas Eve Service. We discussed, planned and decided we could catch the 3 p.m. service at Lazy Mountain before heading to our service at 6 p.m. 

Semper Gumby. They joke was on us. The roads to our church remained impassable.  We were happy we had another plan in place. The girls, GG, Michael and I headed out to the service. We enjoyed it. The gospel was shared, Christmas was celebrated. 

We took the time to drive through various downtown streets.... the snow drifts were amazing. The wind had blown snow into CoRielle's carport and filled it.... amazing. It blocked the shed where they had hidden Christmas gifts. Not to fear...they figured it out.  Here is one house which shows a bit of the drifts...it is common for one side of a yard to be bare, while the other side features towers of snow. 

Semper Gumby

 I'm quite certain the storm was expected. However,  I was focused on getting ready for the Christmas Adam Tea today and I was clueless until this morning. We had such a terrible time trying to plan the tea last year...and Bre, Carrie and Larissa couldn't make it to the tea in 2020...We were really looking forward to this year. It looked like everyone but Bre, Bella and Annie would make it. They've had a CRAZY month since Trudy was born.  We bought a teacup and made tea candles to gift everyone, we made candy, baked treats and ordered tea...and we woke up this a.m. to a HUGE, HAIRY, HORRENDOUS STORM. 

The Christmas Tea seems fated in Alaska. This is something Mom started, and I want to continue it - but it is proving quite difficult. We waited until 3 p.m. and we simply had to call it. It would NOT have been safe for Krista, Carrie and Larissa to drive out to the Valley. 

This storm did NOT drop a lot of snow. We were under blizzard conditions due to the high winds, blowing snow drifts and cold temperatures. Winds gusted to 77mph, temps were -20...and our power went out. Police were stopping people on the road and telling them to go home. Many roads were simply impassable. We didn't get the worst of the winds...even so the line of trees between us and our neighbor is gone.  We had a wooded hedge/trees where the red line is in the photo below. It's odd to look out and see his house, his yard lights instead of trees, and a mountain top. We have a much clearer view of the mountain. When it warms up a bit, I'll have to get out get more pictures. LOL 

Finally, a weather condition that threw the girls off their laying! They looked at me accusingly when I came into the coop today. No amount of singing caused them to budge from the roost. 

We amused ourselves in various ways on this powerless, windy day...we melted lots of snow.  I found it ironic those who cannot remember to flush the toilet in normal times were the very ones who couldn't remember not to flush while the power was out. ::snort::

Allie loves this spot. She has been enjoying some writing projects during her school break. 

I enjoyed a cuppa tea and scone in the dark...sort of like a Christmas Adam Tea. LOL 

The girls decided to map out a wild mystery story. It was fascinating to listen to their repartee.

It was a day for wood heat and candlelight. I'm happy with the way our candles look but the scent disappeared. I'll have to do some research before we try again. 

Soy wax and wood wick...

We are so thankful for the wonderful city and borough teams of plowmen...and for the linemen at our local electric association. They worked non-stop for several days to get power back up and roads cleared!  We've lived in several northern locations and this town has the very best services we've seen. Now, I'm always surprised how businesses leave their sidewalks snowed over...but the streets are amazing. It's gotten to be too hard to take Dad downtown in the winter. 

We settled in to watch the Chosen Christmas episode when the power went out again. We were prepared this time and transitioned to chatting...

It wasn't the day we planned, but it turned out to be a very good day, nonetheless. We are immensely enjoying our school and ministry break. It does seem everything I planned this year was cancelled...i.e. trip to Washington DC, Christmas Tea...ah well.  Semper Gumby - always flexible. We still have hopes for Hawaii in January. 

BTW - 2022 BEGAN with a huge wind storm and it seems it's going to end with one too. 

VERY Productive and FUN Day

This is a crazy week for everyone, isn't it? We decided to combine our two studies into one Bible study this week. This will make tomorrow a bit saner.  We had a lovely time together. We haven't been able to go out for the past couple of weeks due to one thing or the other. 

I had a "quick stop" to make on the way back home.  Kroger pharmacy is no longer going to service Medicare D (Dad) or tri-care clients (us). I had talked to Fred Myers twice yesterday. I'd talked to the doctors. I'd talked to Carrs - the only other pharmacy in town. They assured me this will be easy. We got the letter this WEEK and it goes into effect January 1st.  We stopped by Carrs to pick up the one new prescription Dad had and to insure all his prescriptions from Fred Myers had been transferred.

Nope. 

The new med had been denied by the insurance until January 12th because their records showed Fred Myers had given it to me yesterday. I explained they had NOT. I asked them not to as I wanted it from Carrs to establish Dad as a client. He called the insurance. He called Freddies to have them send prescriptions over. He asked me to wait. 

While we waited, we wandered over to Starbucks. I then wandered back to the pharmacy. Leave the girls alone for a few minutes and crazy things happen. 

Two hours after we walked into Carrs we left with one med, a cart of groceries, and it turns out Freddies only sent over 3 prescriptions...dad takes at least 20.  No, I am NOT exaggerating.  They recommend I simply call the doctor and have them send over all dad's meds and we'll start fresh rather than requesting it again from Freddies. I called the Doctor's. They weren't in. I know they are closed on Friday. ::sigh:: 

The girls and I got home hours later than expected, but we had a plan. We needed to get as much done today as possible toward tomorrow's Christmas Adam Tea because Tomorrow I have a date with Benny and the girls have a date with Arielle.  

We dried mushrooms. These are NOT for the tea - but I needed to get them done. 

We made Peanut Butter Fudge Bars.

We made mint fudge bars. 

We cooked chicken to make chicken salad. We made truffles. Ours NEVER look as good as Jennifer's!!! They taste the same! That counts. LOL 

Then we began the project I planned on doing yesterday! I was glad the girls were excited to help. I had ordered soy wax and other supplies online...I was ready to try an experiment. I can handle many diffused essential oils. I cannot handle scented candles. I get migraines. This is incredibly sad as we love scented candles. I wanted to make some with soy wax (which is supposed to burn cleaner) and ESSENTIAL OILS. I checked which oils wouldn't be toxic to burn. I settled on orange and cinnamon. 

The girls did the scenting...

Allie has been so busy with work and school. It is wonderful that she is out of school - WINTER BREAK!!! She had the day off - we were glad we saved this project until she could do it with us. We laughed and sang and enjoyed doing life together. 

None of us had any real idea of what we were doing...but it worked like magic. I had purchased wood wicks to burn in some candles...they say it crackles like...well like wood burning...::snort::  I thought it would be a fun pick us up to make us smile this winter.  We made one for the kitchen and one for the girls' room. We have great hopes we can have scented candles again. I don't mind making them. I've been around the oils all day and am still migraine free. 

And since you can tell from the photo above...yeah...my secondary goal was making "tea lights" for the Christmas tea. I saved teacups whose saucers broke, thrifted for more...

They turned out great. So great we had to run out to find more cups and such....then realized we probably don't have time or wax to make as many candles as we are dreaming of making. Maybe they'll be New Year's gifts instead of Christmas Eve gifts. ::wink:: 

We are happy with the candles we made. 

This has to be the funniest thing I saw all day. A display at a local store. KNOW YOUR MARKET PEOPLE....it's unlikely BOXED Seattle Wild Sockeye is going to sell well to folks who have a freezer full of Wild Caught ALASKAN Sockeye. 

The countdown continues... Allie burst out with "This girl is on fire," when she saw the lit advent countdown tonight. She has a point. LOL 

Yes, I've been singing the tune all night. ::snort:: 

In A Moment Everything Changes

Stacia is absolutely "knocking her senior year outta the park!" She's "killing it."  This morning a note from our mayor arrived. She's finally realized they are NOT joking when they send these letters. It congratulates her for being in the top 10% of Alaska's graduates and for earning a scholarship at any university in the state system.  Her heart is set on being a missionary and she is plotting a direct course through Bible school to Japan. It is highly unlikely she will detour for a stint at one of our universities...but who knows? God always funds his plans. 

She isn't coasting, her coursework is so interesting to her that she is up early and working hard. She has a plan to finish her high school curriculum by the end of the 3rd quarter - and she's taking a FULL load. She will then have the 4th quarter of her senior year to work solely on college credits.  This has been her plan. She applied to a program with Global University (an Assembly of God University) to begin taking courses as a high school student. Then, she waited. 

At dinner tonight she mentioned she'd not heard from Global yet about her application. She was wanting to start the first class in January. I checked my phone and saw an email from the university. I handed my phone to her to read. 

She's accepted and can begin immediately. She'll have to take the first 3 courses one at a time, maintain a certain GPA and if she does - she'll be free to switch over and go full bore. She has six months to finish each course, but we suspect she'll have the first one done by the end of the 3rd quarter...and finish the next two her 4th quarter. We'll see. She's highly motivated to "get it done."

Stacia said it well. "In a moment, everything changes and yet nothing changes."

Doesn't that sum up so much of a senior year? She is still in high school. She'll still be at home. BUT she's been accepted into the University she thinks she will want to attend for her Bachelor's in Intercultural Studies. She believes she'll eventually be able to do a semester abroad and stay with some missionaries in Japan. She'll begin college courses in January. 

We are proud of Stacia! We knew when she figured out what she wanted to do she would chase it down wholeheartedly. Y'all she's suffered since the earthquake, but she's ready to go back.  It's fun to watch. 

Winter Solstice

GG/Dad had a doctor appointment today. CoRielle had shoveled out a spot for us...but with the girls' snowbound cars so close in it meant the driver had to wade in drifts to get in....Stacia and I went out to shovel out Allie's spot, so she could move over to her spot. We also needed to widen the cleared area between my spot and their spots so we could all get into the car without wading in drifts. Millie is happy to help. 

We're making progress - slow and steady. 

The thing is we didn't want to just "throw it out of the way." We needed to MOVE it clear out of the parking area.  Allie had an appointment she needed to get to the first day and much of the snow came off her car into the space between cars. As we considered how we wanted to tackle the project we saw Michael had a plan. He had packed down several paths. We loaded up our shovels and dragged them along the paths. It would be SO much easier if we had utility sled. 

Our property has a drop off at the end of the trail....well it used to be quite a drop off. It's full of snow now....but anyway that's where we dragged a lot of snow.  The moose have obviously found the trails and appreciate Micahel's hard work. 

We worked as long as we could and still get inside and get ready for GG's doctor's appointment. 

Years ago, I learned to snatch one on one time with the kids while out running errands.  I asked if anyone wanted to come along. Allie opted to come with me and GG. Stacia stayed home and had the house alone. She used the time to make Christmas Crack and some chocolate/kiss cookies for an upcoming tea.

Allie and I were able to talk on the ride over, and she enjoyed time reading in the waiting room. Michael had an appointment and met up with us at the doctors. We discussed new complaints Dad has and how to juggle quality vs. quantity of life issues. 

Michael took Dad out for lunch, a haircut and a quick shopping errand. 

Allie and I were able to snatch more time to talk, headed to Freddies to pick up a few groceries, as well as Dad's meds. 

We got home in time for Allie and Stacia to head to the youth Christmas Party. I met with four other youth moms at a local cafe for drinks, eats and talk. It was wonderful. 

It was a full day.  Today is winter solstice. Yes, it's dark...but we should be gaining a bit of light every day now...

Bachan Needs to Bring Her A Game

 Oy vey! Bachan needs to bring her A game when she comes to play at CoRielle's. ::snort:: I love that we ALWAYS begins with drinks and then our exercise - which is really "chase games" on YouTube. 

Little Buddy, Danny & Benny

It's darling that they haven't figured out you ALWAYS win these races...tricky videos, coach! I love Tuesday's workout. 

Today was a bit of a challenge as both Danny and Little Buddy were checking out all the boundaries. 

"Walk away Danny." 

"Walk away Little Buddy." 

"Make a better choice Little Buddy." 

In the end I pulled out all my Mommy tricks to ensure we could continue to have fun, but I could keep the 2 2 year Olds in check.... I collected a variety stuff and moved it all to the top of the fridge. Bowl of remotes anyone? 

And then there was the discussion with Benny. "Bachan - what does your schedule look like?" 

Oh, oh. I knew I was falling down on the job. I always take the grands out for a date...we eat, we shop, we wrap gifts and I take them back home. I even bought crafts to do at our house this after shopping.  I knew BreZaak's kids wouldn't be able to this year...and then we lost the three weeks in December....so I plan to take Liv and Benny and the boys out in January. Benny is politely honest. 

"Why, Benny?" 

"Do you have time for a shopping date with me?" 

"Can we do it after Christmas?" 

"I think before Christmas." 

Bachan needs to bring her A game. LOL We have a plan. The girls are going out with Arielle on Friday morning, Cory will be home with the twos, and I am going to take Benny out - before Christmas. 

This afternoon was co-op. I picked up two new things to try from the extra table.... limequats and rambutan. Limequats taste like little lemons. Good stuff.  Rambutans? 

These are interesting little fruit.  First discovery - one does NOT eat the skin. Second discovery - it takes like a big, peeled grape. 

My final discovery of the day? I need to be more mindful when buying bulk herbs.  A pound of bay leaves is a lot of bay leaves! And I think my vacuum sealer will crush them. 

Bay leaves anyone? 

First, Dig out the Car...

 A day of calm before the crazy pace takes over. I had hoped to get a couple of things done today, but in the end, Stacia left with Michael and Allie and by the time they returned the day was gone and it was dinner time. Ah well. 

Michael and Allie had an appointment this morning at DMV. Since everyone was sick immediately after buying Allie's new car, the title hadn't been changed over. And would you believe you cannot get a vanity license plate in Alaska anymore? They discontinued it during COVID.  ANYWAY - before the DMV Allie had a task...dig the car out and start it up to make sure the battery etc was fine. 

She got it dug out. It started right up. It was stuck and Stacia and Alex helped push it out of the deep snow. Stacia went along to get more winter driving practice. Allie picked up a co-worker and headed to work. Stacia drove Michael to Wasilla, and all around our town. He said she did great with both the highway driving and the winter driving. She's got a driving test coming up and we were sorry all this snow got dumped right before her big day. LOL  She's asked us if we think she should wait for spring to learn to drive her manual car...not sure. 

They were gone ALL afternoon.  I could have done the projects alone, but I wanted to do them with the girls...or at least one of the girls.  There are still days left....right? I finished a book I need to return to the library tomorrow. LOL 

We had a lazy night here at home. There were only 5 of us for dinner.  GG went to bed fairly early. We sat in a quiet living room where Michael and I read beside the light of the Christmas tree and Stacia worked on a gift for the upcoming youth Christmas party. 

Stacia has hatched a plan to double up school after her Christmas break and finish her senior year a few months early. I think she's ready to really hit the college classes. LOL